Our newest piano instructor!

Amy has been playing the piano most of her life and was so intrigued by the instrument that she decided to study the piano professionally.? In May 2012, Amy earned her Master?s degree in Music Performance (piano) from Minnesota State University at Mankato.

Amy began teaching piano to grade school students in 2006.? Since then, she has taught students of all ages with varying skill levels.? During her time at MNSU, she worked with instructors to tutor her piano peers, taught piano lessons to students on campus and worked as an Accompanist for school and local choirs. All of Amy’s students have raved about her talents as an instructor!

Amy has received countless awards and honors for her exquisite piano talent and is excited to share her gift with others.

James Whatton has studied both Guitar and Bass at Music Tech, where he received many accolades for his knowledge in music theory and performance.? Continuing his education, he has been studying privately with various renowned teachers over the past 13 years, including the likes of Anthony Cox, Bobby Stanton and Scott Fraser.? After Graduating from Music Tech, he moved out to Portland, Oregon and started playing in the rock band Slow Bus.? After playing numerous venues and festivals out west and a short stint in San Francisco playing in an acoustic duo, he headed back to the Midwest where he has called home for the past 10 years.? Once back in Minneapolis, he played in well-received Minneapolis bands (Boku Maru, Triage, Hallaballoo and Gypsy Rogues) as well as his current band Bitter Roots, in which he plays guitar and sings.? Bitter Roots can be seen playing at such places as The Whiskey Junction and The Cabooze.? You can also see him playing bass in the band Shirts and Skins at numerous venues in the area.

He has been teaching Guitar and Bass lessons for over a decade and is a creative music teacher with experience in developing a student?s interest and abilities in music through creating a supportive environment in which each individual can learn. His passion is music; he found this out at a young age and you can see it in his playing.? It?s his desire to help others with the same passion to find their voice in music.

Elliott Roche was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN and started playing drums at the age of 8. When he was around 14, he and his friends were inspired by the music they were listening to and wanted to learn how that music was made. They started taking lessons, saving up for musical equipment, practicing and trying to come up with ideas together to form a band. Eventually, they felt they were ready to play a gig when a friend asked them to play her house party. So they practiced other people’s songs, and a few of their own, and played in front of people for the first time. Some of the band members liked playing in front of other people and some didn?t, but they were all happy to learn how music was made; and most of them continue to learn today. Over the years band members came and went but Elliott wanted to play music whether he had people to play with or not, so the guitar became his instrument of choice. At age 21, Elliott received an offer to play in Mexico, two shows a day, seven days a week for a tourist bar for three months.? He get put up in a hotel and paid a little. He did this and learned that he liked the musician life.? So he did some networking, found other places to play and ended up staying for the better part of two and a half years. He returned in the spring of 2009 and regularly plays gigs here (sometimes solo, sometime with his band “The Cheap Thrills”) at venues including, the Fine Line, Marquette University, the Uptown Art Fair, the Turf Club and many more.

Cole Mickelson was raised on a small family grain farm in northwestern Minnesota.? He grew up listening to his father play mandolin and guitar; it was here that his love for music began.? Despite his father?s love of music, Cole didn?t pick up a guitar until the age of 17.? He then spent most of his time studying with his father and several ensemble groups.? Cole moved to the Twin Cities in 2004 to learn more about music and enrolled in McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul.

While studying at McNally Smith, Cole had opportunities to practice and perform a wide range of music, including jazz, country, pop and funk.? He has been lucky enough to study with some of the area?s greatest players and educators.? He spent two years touring the Midwest with popular country bands.? Now, Cole is focused on playing pop and jazz in local ensembles.

In the past year, Cole has kept busy in the local music scene, performing several times a week at venues such as the 7th Street Entry, Sauce(Cause) and the 331 Club.? As a member of folk-rock group ?Skittish,? Cole played at the South-by-Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas this past spring.? The band was also featured on Kare 11?s local show last winter.? In addition to live performance, Cole enjoys recording music and has been featured on several local artists? albums.? He is also a staple guitarist at Cornerstone Church in Crystal, MN.? Above all else, Cole enjoys learning more about music and playing with new musicians.

Hi! I grew up with music all around me, playing piano since I was five, and later the flute during my school years. After working in the business field for several years, I realized my heart was with music and children, and I went on to complete my Bachelors and Masters in Music Education at the University of South Carolina. I love all types and styles of music, and love guiding young and young at heart in developing a lifelong foundation of musicianship. I also love to sing, and while teaching elementary music I saw the joy that singing, movement, and singing games brought to the students in my classroom. I use these elements in every class. My curriculum is called ?Music Moves For Piano?, and is designed to develop musical thinkers and keyboard performers through the ?sound to notation? method. It is a?new piano?series for the 21st century that builds on?Orff, Kodaly, Suzuki, and Dalcroze and applies Edwin E. Gordon’s Music Learning Theory ?to the teaching of piano. It is a sequential learning process that guides students how to hear music with understanding, providing a solid foundation for developing music literacy.

In Music Moves for Piano students learn to:

Improvise, play by ear, transpose, and harmonize

Compose, arrange, read, and write music notation

Sing?and?play?- accompany singers?and instrumentalists

Perform?with comfort and fluency in a variety of social settings

Play with technical ease and freedom from muscular tension

Listen to and perform music with understanding?-?students?audiate

Become independent music thinkers

Lesson activities are organized around four specific areas of musical development:

This program is ideal for families with two or more siblings ages 4 to 10 yrs old wishing to take lessons. Private instruction time overlaps with partner activities, movement activities, and playing duets together. Single children will also love the purposeful activities and creative approach to music making. All children are guided in musical experiences that foster a lifelong love of music making.

Music has been a part of Andrea DeOtis?s life for as long as she can remember.? She started playing the clarinet when she was 10 years old and fell in love with it instantly.? She has played various types of clarinets, including the bass clarinet.? When Andrea was a teenager she taught herself how to play the flute because it was an instrument she had always wanted to learn.? Her freshmen year of high school Andrea was a part of the Robbinsdale City Marching Band.? She also played in the Robbinsdale City Concert Band.? During college, Andrea decided to take on the alto-sax.? Throughout her life, Andrea has enjoyed playing her instruments in musicals and in church.

This is not Andrea?s first time teaching private music lessons; during the summers she has taught lessons in the Orono School District.? Her goal is to help her students achieve their fullest potential and won?t let them settle for anything less than their best.? Andrea is a talented musician and looks forward to teaching her skills to new students.

Jack Sabol-Williams is a musician from Sheboygan, WI.? He studied Music Education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and moved to the Twin Cities two years ago.? Jack developed an interest in music early in life and has been playing percussion for the past 13 years.? With his music and education background, Jack is able to teach all band instruments.

In addition to teaching, Jack also enjoys playing music himself.? He has played keyboards in a band called the Shoeless Revolution for the last five years.? Working as a touring musician has allowed Jack to develop musical skills in numerous styles and given him the opportunity to work with a wide variety of talented individuals.

Jack believes there is always more to learn and is constantly looking for people and ways to challenge his musical abilities.

?A wish is something you want to magically happen without effort, a goal is something you work hard for and strive to reach.? —Cassondra Meyer

Cassondra Meyer has been dazzling her crowds with charm and laughter since she was 16 years of age. From blissful to desolate expression, Meyer will move you with her committed performances. She can energize any situation and make you laugh till you cry.
Her true goal is to perfect herself in the crafts of teaching, performing, poetry, songwriting, and most of all inspiring.
She has been guided along her journey by some astonishing vocalists including Debbie Duncan, Judi Donaghy, Lori Dokken, and Erin Schwab. Meyer has completed four year degree at McNally Smith College of music for vocal performance. After graduation in May of 2010, Meyer left to work on Holland America Cruise Lines. She spent her eight months as the lead singer in the party band on board. Cassondra currently works all over the Twin Cities and surrounding areas combining her stylistic versatility in jazz, Latin, soul, country, rock and musical theatre. She has also taught private piano and voice lessons since 2008. Meyer has performed with Boogie Wonderland, Doctor Mambos Combo, Rookai, Retro Phonic, Higher Ground, The Tuesday Night Band at the Artist Quarter and many more.

Eli Elstad has been playing music for 16 years, 11 of which have been for
guitar and bass.? Throughout the years he has maintained original groups
focusing on funk/rock/jazz.? When he was younger he studied bass with Jeff
Bailey, in high school he studied music theory and jazz guitar with Kevin
Daley, and during college he studied jazz with David Crittenden.? In 2004 he
won $2000 worth of recording time at MasterMix studios and since then has
continued to be active in the Minneapolis music scene recording several of
his own projects as well as some for other Minneapolis musicians.? He
currently plays guitar in an original funk/rock/progressive trio and is on
staff as a bass player at Mt. Olivet Lutheran church in Plymouth.? In the
last two years he has been instructing guitar around the metro and is
excited to share his unique experience with new students.

James Gould graduated from the University of Minnesota Duluth with a Bachelor of Music in Theory and Composition. During that time, he studied composition with Dr. Justin Rubin and Dr. Thomas Wegren (one of the founding members of the Chicago Transit Authority). In 2003, he was awarded an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Project grant for a study in film composition. The result was the multimedia piece Quartet of Colors that was completely filmed and scored by James. His work on this project was awarded 2nd prize in the first annual Below the Belt competition at the Walker Art Center, and runner-up at Duluth?s Frozen Yeti film competition. He was also awarded 2nd and 3rd prize in the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra?s Composition Competition in 2003 and 2004 for the orchestral compositions La Valse du Bien et du Mal, and On Horsal Common. He has also had his compositions played by the Verder Trio as well as Dou 46. At the University of Minnesota, James studied jazz guitar with William Barnard and classical guitar with Maria Annoni. In 2005, he was chosen to participate in a master class with the world renowned guitar duo, Sergio and Odair Assad. Since graduating college, James has been playing guitar in the Minneapolis area with rock bands The 4onthefloor(recently featured on CityPages.com) and The Early Effect, as well as heading up music composition projects such as the MPLS Music Group. James also currently works for MakeMusic, Inc. ? the world?s leading music notation software.

Lesson Match Locations

Learn how to play musical instruments or learn how to sing. We have activities for children, beginner Music Lessons, music classes for kids, and Music Lessons for adults.We offer private music lessons and voice lessons in cities across the U.S. including: